Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Helping the USO wash all the Kid Rock off of its reputation alone is reason to stand up and cheer...

There was a time when I thought Stephen Colbert's show wouldn't work. Too much of a high-wire act, too one-note, too focused on one personality. Boy, was I a chump. "The Colbert Report" has become one of the best written, most consistently surprising things in pop culture. Colbert is fearless and such a fascinating blend of character and vamp. And in case you've not heard because you were on an ice flow or buried under a pile of real life concerns, this week he's doing a series of USO shows in Baghdad that they're taping for broadcast during his standard slot. Last night was the first example of what they're doing. It's just plain stunningly good work. Colbert's poked the zeitgeist directly in the middle of the forehead in joking repeatedly how Iraq has so fully fallen off the radar that idiots might think it was all over over there. Far from it. Even if you don't watch the show, you need to. And if you're looking to donate charitably in a new direction, I fully admire his link with DonorsChoose.org. Well worth a few sheckles, if you can manage.

Hope your own overseas shows are also recorded in a palace today. Rock on.